Even statistics media cannot predict this game. The real test of Jürgen Klinsmann (59) is waiting.
According to the announcement of the sports media “Opta” on the 29th (Korea time), the round of 16 match between the South Korean national team and Saudi Arabia at the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup is expected to be a neck-and-neck match ever. The media predicted that South Korea will have a 51 percent chance of winning, while Saudi Arabia will have a 49 percent chance.
No matchup was expected to be more neck-and-neck. Iranians expected to win Syria with a 76.2 percent chance. Japan said it would advance to the quarterfinals by beating Bahrain with a 77.5 percent chance. Uzbekistan is 62.6 percent, which is highly likely to win over Thailand (37.4 percent).
The showdowns between European leaders also deserves attention. Korea, led by Coach Klinsmann who coached the German national team and Bayern Munich, ranked No. 1 in Group E with one win and two ties at the 2023 Asian Cup finals. Saudi Arabia, led by Coach Robert Mancini (60), who has a lot of experience in Europe including Manchester City and the Italian national team, ranked No. 1 in Group F with two wins and one tie. The two teams that are expected to win in the round of 16 will meet.
First of all, the atmosphere of the stadium is expected to be filled with shouts of Saudi Arabian fans. South Korea will play Saudi Arabia in the round of 16 at the Education Stadium at 1 a.m. on the 31st. The stadium can accommodate about 45,000 people, and the local government expects about 30,000 Saudi Arabian spectators to come.
“Considering the atmosphere of the stadium, Korea may be at a disadvantage. I think about 30,000 Saudi Arabian fans will gather,” Mancini said. “Korea is a good team. He was a good striker when he was an active player, and he is a good leader now.”
In their last showdown, Korea smiled. Korea beat Mancini’s Saudi Arabia 1-0 in a friendly match in England last September. Korea defended Cho Kyu-sung (Mit Whelan)’s first goal in the first half well until the end. It was Korea’s first victory since the departure of the Klinsmann.
After losing against the Korean team, Saudi Arabia has beefed up its battle lines. Since its preliminary match for the 2026 North-China World Cup in November last year, Saudi Arabia has been undefeated in six matches (five wins and one draw). Notably, it boasts of strong defense in the finals of the Asian Cup. It has allowed only one run in three matches.
Korea, on the other hand, had six goals in three matches, the most number of goals lost among the teams that advanced to the round of 16. Notably, Korea lost three goals in the final group match against Malaysia, which had already been eliminated.
Korea is paying attention to the toes of Lee Kang-in (Saint-Germain), who has emerged as the ace in the tournament. Lee Kang-in is aiming to become the top scorer at the Asian Cup by scoring a total of three goals through multiple goals in the match against Bahrain and free kick goals in the match against Malaysia. Captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) proved himself to be a veteran by scoring both penalty kicks.
Attention is also focusing on whether key players will return. Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers) and Kim Jin-soo (Jeonbuk Hyundai), who were absent due to injury in the early days of the tournament, played as substitutes in the third match against Malaysia. He is highly likely to be selected as the starting pitcher for the match against Saudi Arabia, the first match of the tournament. Another key point to watch is to see how much joining the team’s main players will change their performance.
Korea, ranked 23rd in the FIFA rankings, and Saudi Arabia, ranked 56th in the FIFA rankings. FIFA rankings in this tournament were not very meaningful. Tajikistan, ranked 106th, made waves by making it to the quarterfinals for the first time at the Asian Cup 라바카지노주소.
Klinsmann said, “Now we have no choice. If we lose in a tournament, we will be doomed. We must put our all into the game against Saudi Arabia.
If Korea wins, it will meet Australia in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, it will compete with the winner of the Tajikistan and Jordan matches for the final ticket.